An elusive Baltimore murder suspect is now in police custody after spending more than two months on the run.

Cortez Wall wasn’t hiding in plain sight here in the city; he was down in Shreveport, La., possibly for months, police said. Yesterday, a team of agents from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. team members and Shreveport Police Department K-9 officers showed up at the house where he was staying, according to a Shreveport police release.

The law enforcement crew, including a trained K-9, apprehended the 18-year-old Wall while he was trying to escape, police said. He suffered minor injuries in the process, and was treated at a local hospital before he was booked at the Caddo Correctional Center.

Wall was wanted in the May 6 fatal shooting of 28 year-old Channon Simpkins, whose body was found in the 300 block of Whitridge Avenue in the Harwood neighborhood. Homicide detectives identified Wall as a murder suspect shortly after Simpkins’ body was found, and police 11 days later announced him as their newest “Public Enemy No. 1” – a designation given only to those who the department thinks are highly dangerous.

Police spokesman T.J. Smith said at a May 17 press conference, “don’t let his age fool you. He’s somebody we believe is a very violent individual.” The killing was likely tied to a drug-related dispute, he said.

Smith added that day that the department believed Wall had been involved in other murders, labeling him “possibly a veteran killer.” He was living in Northeast Baltimore’s Hamilton Hills neighborhood before he went on the run.

Online court records show Wall was previously convicted of a handgun violation from an October 2015 arrest, and is also facing drug charges from an arrest in May of this year.

Wall’s stint as Public Enemy No. 1 was the longest on record in the four years since Baltimore police started using the designation.

His alleged killing of Simpkins was one of 195 homicides in Baltimore so far this year, according to The Sun’s homicide tracker.

Ethan has been editing and reporting for Baltimore Fishbowl since fall of 2016. His previous stops include Fox 45, CQ Researcher and Connection Newspapers in Northern Virginia. His freelance writing has been featured in Baltimore City Paper, Leafly, DCist and BmoreArt, among other outlets. He enjoys basketball, humid Mid-Atlantic summers and story tips.